Council profit kept in reserve

VALE of Glamorgan Council over-collected council tax last year - ahead of another possible rise to people’s bills.

Figures have shown the council collected £1.5m more in council tax than anticipated last year.

People in the Vale of Glamorgan could face council tax rises of 2.5% next year as the council has to make further savings.

The council made a profit of £6.7m last year which went into its usable reserves, a report says. That means in April the authority had a total of £78.7m of earmarked reserves – which could be used to provide services.

At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, councillor Ian Johnson said: “Unnecessary council tax reserves or service cuts affect the very people we’re supposed to be helping.”

Speaking after the meeting, the Plaid Cymru leader in the Vale of Glamorgan added: “Vale residents are so used to hearing about austerity and the need to make cuts that it comes as a great surprise to hear that the council made a £6.7m profit last year.

“Both Conservatives and Labour have increased council tax by more than inflation every year since I joined the council and Plaid have voted against every time.

“Plaid Cymru believe that the council’s priority should be people, not money. That means focusing on providing the best services not on making un-necessary cuts or charges, like the current car parking charging plans.”

Councils in England such as Northamptonshire and Somerset face huge cuts to services after plunging into the red.

The council is looking at how it can balance the books ahead of £17m savings needed over the next three years, having already shed £50m from its accounts since 2010.

Councillors have not yet made a decision on how much council tax would rise by in 2019-20 - but a financial model the council is considering would raise council tax by 2.5%.

Councillor John Thomas, leader of the council, said the £1.5m amount of excess council tax collected was “not a great deal”.

“I would much rather be in that side of it than the other,” he said. “We would end up in a bigger hole in our budget than we currently have. We have not got plenty of money. We have made savings of £50m over the